The Great War
by Rollo123
Summary: Originally posted by x3hellokitty. WWII AU. Before the Big Three swore on the Styx that they'd no longer have children, powerful demigods were more than abundant. When Hades tries to overthrow the Olympians, the whole world gets caught up in it. Join Jason and Percy as they battle through life during WWII.
1. Boy Stuck in the Past

Chapter 1: The Boy Stuck in the Past

Jason knew exactly where he was when he heard that familiar banging against the door. The noise flashed him back to the small apartment home him and his mother Elizabeth Grace lived in on London's east side. This was a dream, he knew it. Jason knew this dream, it's the only dream he ever had: watching his mom frantically search for something, but not knowing what it was his mother wanted so desperately. Grabbing the mysterious item she ran over and picked up her eight year old son, carrying him into her room just as the door to their apartment collapsed. A man walked in; a man that Jason had come to loathe. He knew his dream. He knew how it ended and it was the fact that he wasn't able to do anything but watch that sickened him, made him feel useless. Just before the man entered the bedroom his mother handed him something small and hard. Jason looked at it confused as his mother said, "Jason , hide okay?"

"But…mom…" Jason didn't want to leave his mother alone with the daunting man in their house.

"It'll be ok baby, just stay here," she forced a smile before pushing him into her closet and closing the door. From the closet slats Jason could just see the large man enter the room. He was wearing a fancy suit, but his stature wasn't anything like the gentlemen he usually saw wearing them. He towered over Jason 's mother, who stood at 5' 2" and had scars down his neck and the left side of his face.

Jason blinked quickly and rubbed his eyes when he realized that the man had only one large eye.

"Where is the artifact Professor Grace?" the monster asked, his voice deep and coarse.

Jason 's mother answered shakily, "I...I don't know what you're talking abo…" He growled and before she could get the last word out he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

Watching this unfold for the hundredth time filled Jason with unimaginable anger; he wanted to run out of the closet, do something, anything to help her, but he couldn't he couldn't move. He could never move or speak, no matter how much he wanted to. Jason cussed at his younger self for being such a coward, but no matter what he did the dream would continue the way it always did.

"Fine," the one-eyed man said. "We will find it whether you help us or not; we are no longer in need of your services".

As the man was talking, a flicker in a nearby window distracted Jason . Outside was standing a giant bird, an Eagle to be exact, sitting on the building across from the window watching. Jason remembered the stories his mother used to read him, stories of the large eagle that would protect them.

"Do something you bastard," Jason thought to the bird, his anger swelling. "Do something…"

Then Jason heard the most sickening noise. The part of his nightmares that made him want to wretch: a loud sickening snap that jolted him upright in his bed sweating. Jason started to shake, his hair matted to his forehead. He stood up slowly, fatigue settling into his bones. He rubbed his eyes angrily before walking over to the sink on the opposite side of the room. The small one room apartment only had a sink, mirror, and bed; everything else was torn apart or covered in rubble. He turned on the tap and splashed a bit of water on his face, hoping it would wake him up a little bit more. Jason was about 5' 11" which was above average for an eighteen year old. He wore torn slacks and a undershirt where you could see his abs outlined. He looked at himself in the mirror; his hair looked shaggy and unkempt, his attempt to dye his hair brunette worked for the most part leaving only traces of his naturally blonde hair. He shuddered at his appearance still, his sky blue eyes being a constant reminder of his father. He looked down at the locket around his neck. He held it in his hand looking at it wondering why this plain little locked was so important. Despite his questions he never took it off the locket was always safe around his neck. Turning away from the mirror Jason headed past the bed to the far wall, only there was no wall. The bricks were broken down, showing something any Londoner would've thought impossible. Burning buildings and bomb casings littered the surface of the once great city. Jason spotted a newspaper flying in the wind, closing his eyes willing the paper to come to him. The wind carried it right to into his hands, the date emblazoned across the headline: December 4th 1940.

Jason stood at the edge of the dismantled apartment staring at the sky. Despite his hatred for his father, he loved the sky; it was the only place he ever really felt free. He never had one of his "attacks" while in the air, but even if he did he knew he wouldn't fall.

Usually Jason would scavenge food, clothes, or anything he might need for the night, but since it was already six o'clock the sky was already starting to darken. Normally it would still be bright, but due to the debri in the air from the bombing it got darker a lot sooner. Jason stretched and started making his way towards the University of London. Classes were canceled due to the war, but there was a professor there who was running a miniature hospital for those who couldn't get to a real hospital. As he opened the doors to the main hall he saw volunteer nurses rushing about, tending to the casualties from the night before. Jason looked on sadly, good memories from visiting the University with his mother being chased away by the depressing scene in front of him. Parents calling for their children, children calling for their parents, soldiers moaning in pain.

While wandering through the main hall, occasionally whispering words of encouragement to the hurt, he ran into Dr. Abram. The doctor, a rather stout man of 5' 5". Dr. Abram was in his sixties with gray hair. He was a rather kept man, though the stress of the war kept him from grooming his beard. Dr. Abrams was the professor of physics and ancient languages at the university of London for close to forty years and was arguably one of the best teachers in Europe. Jason remembered sitting through the doctor's physics lectures as he waited for his mother to finish up class. There were a lot of fond memories connected to the professor; he was the closest thing to a father Jason had. Doctor Abrams worked closely with Jason 's mother Elizabeth for several years deciphering and translating various Ancient Greek jars and tablets. After the murder of Elizabeth, Doctor Abrams had taken to looking after Jason even though he was in the care of a local orphanage. Until Jason turned eighteen a few months ago Dr. Abrams had visited and helped whenever he could.

"Ah Mr. Grace, it has been a while," Doctor Abrams said amused. "What brings you here this fine day?"

"I wanted to talk to you about my... condition," Jason said.

"Oh. Of course, come, come," Abrams motioned for him to follow as he walked towards an unoccupied classroom. When they were inside Jason took a seat. "Have you been able to sleep at all?" Abrams asked.

"Not much sir, I keep having that same dream...about that night," Jason replied running his fingers through his hair.

"Well that's not uncommon with post traumatic stress, especially after an event such as yours. It's certainly understandable," after a short pause he continued. "What about the other problems that you've had in the past? Have they come back?"

"No sir, I haven't been hearing anything or had panic attacks for a while but I am still randomly falling asleep, I don't even remember falling asleep sometimes..." Jason leaned forward resting his arms on his lap.

"Again," Abrams started ."Another symptom of insomnia, unfortunately I don't have the resources to treat you Jason ; however, you're more than welcome to stay here, at least I'd be able to keep an eye on you…"

Before Jason could respond alarms began blazing across the city, signaling another bombing. Jason stood up suddenly running towards the door.

"Where are you going? It's not safe outside Jason!" Abrams yelled after him. "Sorry, sir! I'll be fine!" Jason shouted already half out the door.

Outside of the school it was almost dark, the city's fires were more than enough light, as if to signal the German bombers. Jason ran as fast as he could to the one place he knew he had to defend, the only home he had left: Children's Hope Orphanage.


	2. Defending Children's Hope

Jason kept on running, turning down ally-ways and cutting through the deserted streets. Any sensible person would be tucked away safely in a bomb shelter or running the opposite direction once this madness started. Jason could see the orphanage only a few blocks away when he heard a deafening explosion overhead.

He looked up and saw brick and broken glass raining down. Diving out of the way, Jason took cover in the arched entrance of the collapsing building hoping it wouldn't fall like the rest. Once the dust had settled and his ears stopped ringing from the explosion Jason stepped out from the arch and continued to the orphanage.

When he arrived at the fence of the small building he was breathing heavily. Jason looked upon the familiar brick building; memories of his life here after his mother's death came flooding back to him. He quickly pushed the memories aside and focused on his mission.

Children's Hope Orphanage had a dome on the roof; standing proudly upon the dome was a medium sized flag pole, Jason's plan centered on that pole. Whenever the bombs were dropping close to this part of London he would run to this pillar hoping to defend this one building.

Willing the air to carry him, Jason leaped upwards towards the dome. Grabbing the flagpole he closed his eyes and focused feeling the motions of the sky; all the clouds, the wind wailing far above his head, the birds flying to safety from the Nazi bombers- Jason could feel everything it felt like someone was lightly touching his hair. Within seconds of Jason entering this meditative state he could sense the bombs falling nearby. Focusing on that specific projectile Jason willed a lighting bolt from the clouds above to strike the pole.

This was the part he didn't like; within seconds of calling for the bolt he felt the electricity surge through his body. Despite having done this many times in the past it wasn't exactly the feeling having pure electricity surge through his body that made him feel bad, but the fact that this all powerful feeling reminded him of Zeus. As soon as he felt the sensation of the current running though his body he willed it back to the pole and focused on the falling bomb; a lighting bolt fired from the top of the flagpole striking the missile causing a premature explosion hundreds of feet above the city.

Jason let go of the pole and tried to regain his composure. He felt his everyday drowsiness catching up to him; sleep was rare for him and the large amount of energy he was conducting wasn't helping. Closing his eyes he could still sense the bombs dropping around the city, he soon felt another coming and coming fast. Grabbing the pole again he repeated the process, calling for lightning and shooting down bombs, over and over until he could barely stand.

Images passed through Jason's mind; leaning against the flagpole all he could think about was this building- how he grew up, how this building gave him a chance for a normal life.

"Only a little bit more," he panted placing his palm onto the cold, makeshift lightning rod. Jason refused to let this war take this place away. Ages passed until the bombing stopped. This wave seemed longer than the last. Jason collapsed with his back against the flagpole. It was a strange sight, a boy on the rooftop during a bombing. But anyone sane enough to be outside would be dead already. At least that's what he thought. His breathing was heavy and he could hardly see straight, but something was bothering him. His gut twinged with discomfort. Out of the corner of his eye Jason saw something moving swiftly on the streets below.

His demigod instincts told him to get up, but his brain reminded him to move with caution. Moving slowly to the edge of the roof he peered down at the mysterious figure, shape looked like a young girl.

"What the hell…" Jason could barely finish his sentence before feeling a sharp point being pushed against his back.

"Look what we have here," an woman's voice hissed "a child of the 'almighty' Zeus?" Jason did his best not to collapse right there; the energy he used for the bombs drained him.

He heard a second woman's teasing voice, "This one doesn't smell like a demigod Sister. If it wasn't for the flashy lightshow he put on we might have completely overlooked such a yummy morsel."

He slowly turned around to face his assailants. Despite the small amount of light illuminating the rooftop he could tell they were not human. The two women standing in front of him were covered in scales they both had sharp snake-like eyes and pointed fangs. Their blue dresses and dress shoes contrasted their hideous image. Their hands reflected the burning city, burning like twisted metal; their hair was slithering and hissing. Jason quickly adverted his eyes downwards, his mother told him many Greek myths growing up and he knew exactly what he was faced with: Gorgons.

"Oh stop with the oh no! I can't look at the ugly snake ladies or I'll turn to stone,'" one of the Gorgons hissed angrily.

"That is only with our sister Medusa, her curse given by that she-devil Athena. Let's just kill this ignorant demigod Sthenno," the second gorgon said pushing her short spear harder against Jason's chest.

"I agree Euryale; a child of Zeus will make a fantastic meal" Sthenno said smiling. Jason's heart was racing he could barely stand, and his mind was to blurry to think of a way out of this situation the only thought going through his mind was the thought of that monster who killed his mother all those years ago. Euryale moved her spear back readying her strike when a loud bang echoed through the barren streets. Euryale instantly vaporized in a cloud of golden dust, dropping the spear. Confused Jason looked at the other Gorgon who was just as confused as him, and another shot rang out.

The monster screamed clutching her side. Jason fell backwards onto the roof of the orphanage trying to figure out what was happening. A silhouette of a man walking towards the fallen Gorgon holding a sword appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Stay back!" the monster bellowed trying to crawl away from the man. Jason felt a wave of fatigue pouring over him once again. He internally groaned while trying his hardest to stay awake. He watched as the man stabbed Sthenno before stepping towards Jason. Panic gripped him as the man got closer. Jason raised his sword slightly off the ground before darkness overtook him and carried him away from the war and into the realm of Morpheus.

When Jason finally awoke he was on the floor. The air was dry and the room was completely dark. Confused, Jason closed his eyes gathering his thoughts. He replayed his last memories in his mind the raid, the Gorgons, the two mysterious people who saved him, or kidnapped him.

Something felt wrong…the sky felt far away and he couldn't feel any electricity in the dark room; usually he could sense the electricity flowing through the wires but in here it was as if he was in a large metal holding cell with no bars. Despite his throbbing headache Jason felt around on the floor until his hands felt something he wasn't expecting,

"Wood?" Jason thought. Confused he stood up and steadied himself on the waist high crate. Jason's stomach felt heavy as he realized his mother's locket wasn't around his neck. Thinking me might have dropped it he started searching in the dark franticly trying to find the small metal keepsake. Suddenly he heard a series of turning and clicks as though tumblers of a safe were being popped into place then the far wall of the room slowly creaked open flooding the room with light.

Standing up he let his eyes adjust to the light. Jason observed his confines, the room was about the size of large bedroom with wooden crates scattered throughout. The crates themselves were various sizes and lengths all with long serial numbers and IWM London written in a large font across the side. Turning his attention to the large door that was now open he saw a girl standing in the entrance of the metal storeroom. Automatically suspicious Jason held his hands up in a fighting position. They might've taken his weapons, but he still had his hands.

The first thing Jason noticed about this girl was that she couldn't have been any older than 16; she was a little shorter than he was and had dark auburn hair tied into a bun on the top of her head. She was wearing loose black pants tucked into black combat boots you would commonly see worn in the British Military. She also wore a brown leather tunic over a long sleeved white shirt and from what Jason could tell wore little to no make-up. She wore a haughty expression but the most intimidating feature of this girl was her cloudy green eyes; even from this distance it felt as if her eyes were staring through him, like she was reading his mind like an open book.

"Looks like you're finally awake. Glad we can get started," She smirked slowly walking into the vault having the door swing shut. Fear gripped Jason, whoever this mysterious woman was she was dangerous. Instead of the room being completely dark like it was before there were suddenly lit lanterns sitting on top of the crates giving the cold steel room just enough light to clearly see. Jason knew those lanterns weren't there before she closed the door, but pushed the thought away.

"Who are you? And where am I?" Jason asked trying his hardest to hide his fear.

"Relax, you aren't in any danger… well unless I determine you could be a threat," she paused, smirking to herself. "First things first, my name is Susan Lowsley and I'm like you Jason Hall. I'm a demigod."

The fear Jason felt from this girl intensified when she said his name, his mind was racing trying to figure out how she knew who he was he never met this girl before in his life.

"How do you know my name?" Jason asked hoping she couldn't tell that his body was shaking.

"We know quite a bit about you Jason," She said leaning with one hand against a crate by the door. "We know about how your mother was a professor of Ancient Greek languages and mythology at the University of London, how she was killed by a Cyclopes, and how you were raised in the same orphanage we found you at last night. We also know you never got adopted by anyone because of 'strange activity' whenever people were visiting."

This was the last straw Jason knew he had to get out of this room and put as much distance between him and this girl as possible. Jason noticed a gap between two crates that he could pass through but there was still no way out of the room with the massive vault door shut behind Susan. The only way out would be to fight her, he didn't like the idea but his options were limited and she was dangerous. Clenching his fist Jason attacked her, he had hoped to get the first punch clean across her jaw and knock her out without much trouble but Jason took two steps forward and suddenly felt cold metal chains grip his wrists, legs and around his waist holding him in place. He thrashed around trying to get out, but found they kept getting tighter. Soon the demigod son of Zeus couldn't move. He glared at the girl.

What was happening? He knew for a fact he wasn't chained before he decided to attack this girl…could she have chained him up without him noticing? Impossible, Jason thought, he was watching her the whole time and it was only the two of them in the room.

"What the hell?" Jason exclaimed panicked

"Like I said before I'm a demigod, just like you, and just like you I have my own 'talents.' I don't exactly control lightning or anything…but I wouldn't say I'm powerless. I control magic," she smirked. "My mother is Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft and magic."

She paused as if to wait for Jason to take in this information.

"I volunteered to be in charge of you down here because you have something that interests me greatly," Susan continued. "You had an incredibly powerful magical item that could have only been enchanted on Olympus by my mother, and I want to know where you got it."

Lifting her finger to point at the chain around Jason's right wrist she continued, "I suggest you tell me soon or I will be forced to ask not so nicely." As if on cue the chain surrounding his right wrist started to glow and feel warm.

"It'd be a shame if you lost that hand of yours…" she shook her head.

"I have no idea what you're talking about! What magical item?" Jason exclaimed. His eyes darted around hysterically while he struggled to free his wrist from the glowing metal.

"I didn't even know there were other people in the world like me! Let alone that magic was real!" Jason felt the metal around his wrist getting hotter.

"You had a locket around your neck with the similar properties as Hades' Helm of Darkness! Don't play dumb with me, if you're a spy for Hades I will end you right here and now without any remorse!" as soon as Susan finished talking another chain appeared around Jason's neck glowing hot.

Jason's eye flashed but before the chain could tighten itself around his throat the large door opened again with a bang.

"Susan, stop!" the man yelled quickly walking over to the furious girl and lowered her arm. The chains surrounding Jason instantly vanished in a puff of cold mist, as did the lanterns around the room. Jason fell to the floor, the pain from the chains vanishing just like the chains. He looked at his wrist expecting burns but they looked exactly the way they always did, no marks or burns to prove the chains were ever there.

Jason got up and looked at the man who had stopped Susan from chaining him up like a burning pig. He was as tall as Jason but more muscular, he had the body of a military man and definitely wasn't someone Jason would ever want to fight against. He looked to be the same age as Jason but it was more difficult to tell. His blonde hair was cut short enough to barely cover his scalp. He was wearing a long wool coat and military boots along with military style trousers. Jason also noticed under his coat he was wearing a bronze chest plate and had a sword strapped to his belt, he looked like an Ancient Greek warrior in modern day clothes.

Having calmed Susan down enough the soldier turned his attention to Jason who was leaning with his back against the cool metal wall of the vault.

"Gerald Cross, son of Ares, and the commander of the 300, I must apologize for Susan's harsh questioning. She's had some…incidents with the new recruits." Now that he was close Jason noticed Gerald had a scar on the left side of his head running from the base of his hairline down to the corner of his eye

"An incident?" Jason asked regaining his composure.

"Yes, as you know we are at war…but as you probably don't know Germany bombing London is a cover for another war which has been brewing for centuries." Jason knew he must have had a confused look on his face from the way this commander smirked at him, "You really don't know anything that is happening do you, Jason?" Gerald questioned with an amused look.

"No, I have no idea what is going on, with you, or that crazy bitch over there who just tried to chain roast me or a crazy war or your fucking 300!" Jason confessed frustrated.

"Again I will apologize for Susan's interrogation techniques, but I highly suggest you don't lose your temper with me Grace," the commanders eyes glinted. "I admit you're an important person here and from what I saw on top of the orphanage last night we could really use your help defending against Hades' forces though, so I will forgive you this once."

"Follow me Jason," he said turning to walk out of the vault. Jason hesitated but reluctantly followed behind the burly man.

Outside of the vault Jason noticed that they were surrounded by crates and ancient artifacts, paintings, and statues from around the world. He felt a wave of nostalgia; he had been here before with his mother when she was asked to come and study new artifacts. They were in the basement of the Imperial War Museum. Climbing the stairs to the main floor they went through the door to the lobby of the large museum; sandbags were propped up on the receptionists desk with pamphlets scattered around the table and on the floor. On the counter was a large machine gun with three boys dressed in Greek warrior armor behind the weapon playing a card game. As they entered the dinosaur exhibit, which was right past the receptionist counter, Jason saw hundreds of people most were sharpening weapons or chatting with each other while others were practicing archery with bows and arrows against the wall or sword fighting in circles drawn with chalk on the floor. In the far back corner Jason saw about 12 teenage kids around a large furnace discussing and drawing plans on paper. Many of the people Jason saw weren't old at all; most were around 14 or 15.

"As you can see we don't have a lot of man power in fending off Hades' monsters. We could really use your help Jason, it's of utter necessity we protect this museum," Gerald said

"Maybe you can start from the beginning? I have no idea what's happening or if I can even help," Jason said his eyes scanning the crowds.

"Of course. Sarah, go make sure everyone is alert, the bombs may start sooner today."

"Yes Sir," Sarah said walking briskly towards the main lobby.

"Here take a seat," Gerald said pointing to an empty bed nearby. Once Jason was in the cot Gerald started explaining everything that was happening.

"Well Hades', the lord of the dead, has been amassing support from various monsters and other lesser gods to mount an assault to try to take over Olympus. Since Hades has control over the Underworld he has legions of undead souls and whatever monsters and gods he manages to persuade to join him under his command. The Germans campaign in Europe is only the beginning of this war; eventually every god, demigod, and mortal will be drawn into fighting the Germans and Hades."

"So if this is all true, how come you and everyone else here aren't out fighting on the front lines, why are you held up in this museum?" Jason asked.

"Hades' forces have been pushing harder against this museum than anywhere else in Europe. We think there is something important here, something Hades needs to take over Olympus. We've had everyone who can sense magical items search through the entire museum and no one can find anything. As long as Hades is using the Germans as a cover for his plans the gods can't do anything. The Ancient rules prevent them from impacting major mortal events. So that leaves us, the children of the gods, to do whatever we can to end this war and put a stop to Hades' plan. Many of us call ourselves the 300 becauselike the 300 Spartans who defended their land against the Persian invasions we are defending our land from Hades and the German army." When Gerald finished Jason leaned back in the bed with his hands on his head.

"So why am I so important? There are a lot of other demigods here, I'm sure that there are others with Zeus as their dad."

"Actually that is a good point," Gerald interjected "But…all of the children of the sky god went to go fly for the Air-force. But that raises another question. Why aren't you, a child of Zeus, who feels most at home in the air, not enlisted? You're certainly old enough."

"I wanted to when I first heard, but I…wasn't fit for service. I…have post traumatic stress induced insomnia," Jason finally admitted. Gerald placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward as if he was evaluating Jason.

"Well here is your second chance Jason Grace, are you ready to serve the gods?" He asked with a smirk.


	3. Stepping into the World

Up until this point Jason has only been in two real fights. Both fights were with kids in the orphanage when he was younger, now here he was with wooden sword in hand face to face with someone who's dad was the god of war.

Jason lunged towards Gerald aiming to strike the commander on his hip. Gerald parried the blow forcing Jason off balance and followed swiftly with a blow to Jason's collarbone.

"Dead," Gerald acknowledged Jason's defeat, stepping back towards the edge of the practice circle.

The practice went on until the bombing started. Guards were set up near the entrance of the museum while others were patrolling the various hallways and exhibit rooms.

Bruised and beat up, Jason lay down in one of the empty beds in the main room and wanted nothing more than to sleep and recover. Jason tossed and turned for hours trying to sleep but knew it was a pointless endeavor. Finally after admitting defeat to his insomnia, Jason quietly rose from the bed and wandered off to explore the museum. Jason walked into a dark room lit only by the moon shining through the windows on the second floor; he couldn't see much but he made out the shapes of large skeletons propped up on platforms.

"Must be the dinosaur exhibit," Jason said to himself softly as he walking into the dark room.

"Quite right Mr. Grace," Jason turned around quickly to see a woman standing in the shadow of one of the larger dinosaur skeletons. "These reptiles might not have been the brightest being to dominate the earth, but they were somewhat interesting."

The woman continued running her hand over the display plaque on sign.

"If you're here for a fight, or are planning something for Hades, then you made a big mistake. The patrols will be by here soon and then you'll have all the demigods in this museum to fight," Jason said hoping to intimidate the strange woman knowing that with no weapons, being weak from his insomnia and from his practice earlier he would be in trouble if this mysterious woman decided to attack.

"Oh stop bluffing child," the woman said strolling towards Jason. "I know the patrols won't come to this room, there would be no point, no exits or entrances the only way in or out would be through the door behind you. Now you have two options listen to what I have to say or go get help. The door is right there and I won't stop you," she said standing a few feet from him.

Now that she was closer to him Jason could make out what she looked like. He knew she wasn't a demigod, with the exception of himself all the other demigods were young and this woman was clearly in her early thirties. Her face was thin with a slightly rounded chin, her raven black hair was curled down to her shoulders and she wore a white dress that Jason could have sworn was glowing. Through the moon lit room Jason could see her grey eyes staring at him, studying him as if she were contemplating counters for every move he could make.

"Okay you have my attention, so who are you?" Jason asked taking a small step towards the door.

"I am Athena, Goddess of Wisdom," the woman said her voice filling the room "I have come to aid you with your quest to stop Hades."

"So why did you choose to help me?" Jason asked annoyed "Why not Gerald? Or even Susan would be a better choice than me, I can barely fight."

"I have chosen you Jason Grace because of your 'unique' situation. While you are not the strongest warrior, nor are you the most powerful demigod fighting this war, you have something that no one else in this museum has; the ability to think for yourself." Athena concluded standing almost an arm length away from Jason.

"What do you mean 'think for myself'," Jason asked confused

Athena sighed shaking her head slightly, "I hoped I wouldn't have to explain everything to you but the reason I chose you is because you are not a soldier, you are a man. Take Gerald Cross for example, while he is an outstanding warrior, and an expert tactician he is still a soldier. His mind is clouded by war like all other children of Ares; he lacks the clarity to use my gift properly." The goddess of wisdom continues her explanation, her grey eyes glaring at Jason.

"As for the witch of Hecate, her mind is clouded by hate and anger towards men. I fear she may abuse my help. You are different though, and if you wish to succeed in your goals and defeat Hades you must be independent from the gods," As she finished speaking the goddess of wisdom laid a hand on Jason's hairline. Jason felt his head start to grow warm. The sensation Jason was feeling was not pain, his mind felt warm, as if he was trying with all his might to understand something that he simply could not comprehend.

"Stay still," the goddess commanded, as the heat from Jason's head grew more intense. Jason thought his head would melt, his eyes grew heavy and Jason started to collapse with the deity touching his mind. As Jason embraced his exhaustion Athena's final words of advice echoing through his burning mind,

"Receive my gift Jason Grace, and remember even impossible challenges can be conquered, you just have to be clever enough."

In his sleep Jason's mind was clear, as if someone flipped a switch the horrible scene came rushing back to his subconscious mind. Though this time the guilt and sorrow that Jason felt watching this scene unfold felt heavier as if a weight was being pressed down upon him.

Jason was standing in the rain on the building across from his old apartment staring at the back of his father's large eagle. The rain falling from the bleak cloudy sky was frozen in place along with the monster holding Jason's terrified mother.

"Tis such a shame," an icy voiced called out from behind Jason, freezing the blood in his veins. The world rotated causing him to come face to face with the mysterious man. He was tall, and wearing a black suit and tie that appeared to be swirling and shifting as Jason stared into the dark fluxuating fabric. In his left hand the man held a matte black obsidian cane with a chrome metal skull resting under his palm. His obsidian black hair was parted neatly down the middle of his head falling almost shoulder length. The clouds around the stranger's feet gave off a sense of depression and sadness. Jason suddenly knew who was; the lord of the dead himself, Hades.

Jason couldn't speak; his mouth became parched upon seeing the god, and every fiber of his being told him to. Finding himself unable to control what was happening in his dream Jason had no choice but to face the god of death.

"Now, now, you look as if you have seen a ghost," Hades said chuckling to himself. "But I supposed whenever you sleep you see a ghost," the lord of the dead's eyes drift away from Jason towards the frozen scene in the apartment, an unsettling smile crossing his lips.

"Surely you of all people can understand my position in the world," Hades continued to leisurely stroll towards the giant eagle, his cloud of despair and sorrow following his every step.

"He let your mother die Jason. A woman he claimed to 'love,' he just watched her die," he laughed cynically. The lord of the dead turns back towards Jason, "I know how you feel…betrayed; I was cast down to the underworld to watch over the dead for eternity…" his voice bitter with anger.

The fear and sorrow engulfed Jason was almost too much for him to bear. He wanted nothing more than to crawl away from the god and hide; hide from the world and all the pain of his dreams.

"Join me Grace," the god called out extending his pale hand towards Jason. "Together we can show Zeus the error of his proud and boastful ways."

Unconsciously Jason started to step towards the god. The anger towards Zeus boiled inside of him caused a part of Jason to want nothing more than to ruin Zeus, cause him as much pain as Jason himself endures every time he is forced to watch this accursed scene. Jason stopped in front of Hades, just close enough to feel the icy touch of his aura.

Athena's words echoing around him, "You must be independent from the gods." Her steady voice rang around Jason giving him renewed courage to face Hades and drive away the sorrow he wrought.

"No," Jason said staring into the lord of the dead's dark eyes. "I will not join you Hades; I will fight against your forces and stop you from taking over Olympus." Jason jut out his chin defiantly. Hades' expression suddenly grew darker and more sinister causing Jason to flinch.

"If you wish to die with your fellow demigods in that museum then so be it, I hope you are happy with the fate you chosen," Hades replied as the he and the rooftop faded away leaving Jason siting upright against the wall in the dinosaur exhibit slowly regaining consciousness.

"There you are Jason," he heard a familiar voice call out. Lifting his head up wearily Jason watched as Susan entered the room. His head was spinning from his experience with deities. He wondered how long he has been asleep; judging from the moonlight Jason knew he couldn't have been out for more than a couple of hours. Besides the headache, Jason felt surprisingly refreshed from his short sleep.

"I've been looking for you Grace," Susan said leaning against the wall next to him.

"Really? Why is that? Want to make sure I'm not planning another 'incident'," Jason retorted, her harsh introduction still fresh in his mind. Despite not making eye contact, Jason could feel her glare shooting towards him.

"Listen… I'm…" Sarah sighed. "Sorry about that, okay? It's just that last time I should have been able to sense the enchantment, and it led to someone I care about almost dying. I can't afford to mess up again," she explained sitting down next to Jason.

"So you don't think I'm planning anything anymore?" Jason eyed her, hoping to not look suspicious.

"No," she laughed, "I saw how you fought earlier and well, if Hades wanted to send someone in to kill anyone he wouldn't send you." Jason didn't know whether to take that statement as a compliment or an insult. He made a face.

"So what exactly happened?" Jason asked looking over to the sorceress. Susan stared at the ground and pulled her knees close to her.

"A few weeks ago, a demigod came here. He was beat up and badly wounded. Gerald made sure we took him in and healed him as best we could. After a couple of days he was back on his feet and helped us fight off some of Hades soldiers…then one night I was on patrol around the museum and I met up with Gerald; he had just got out of a defense strategy meeting in preparation for the next attack. We were lost in conversation when the demigod we healed…he just came out of the shadows and stabbed Gerald in the chest," Susan's body tensed up as she continued her story. "Gerald was in shock and I knew I had to stop the assassin, so I trapped his mind in complete blackness. I found out what terrified him the most, used it against him, and shattered his mind in a matter of seconds. I took Gerald to the infirmary just in time to save his life…I told myself I would never let anything like that happen ever again." As she concluded her story Jason noticed a slight trembling in her hands as she hugged her legs.

"Gerald must be very important to you," Jason responded

"He is the only person I have ever met, demigod or not, to look at me and see something other than a freak or monster. I don't want to lose him, so I will protect him as best I can," Susan stated turning her attention towards Jason.

"So why would demigods treat you like a monster?" Jason asked. "Don't all demigods have some sort of power based on their godly parent?"

"Well yes, but children of Hecate are different than most other demigods, since our powers are based around trickery and the mind we are seen as more dangerous than others," Susan said willing the mist into a sphere in her open palm. "We control what people hear, feel, see, smell, taste, or even sometimes think." The sphere of mist in the sorceress hand gently morphed into a small bird and flew towards Jason then up and out the broken window on the floor above.

"So if you can control what people see, does that mean that you can look like whatever you want?" Jason asked, intrigued by the idea of it.

Susan laughed at the question, "Of course it does; in fact, I can tell you no one in this museum except Cross knows what I really look like."

The bonding moment was cut short with the sound of a bell ringing from the roof of the museum. Susan jumped to her feet and grabbed Jason's hand pulling him up off the floor.

"That's the alarm!" she explained. "Hades' forces are attacking."

Before Jason could think, Susan was dragging him up the stairs to the second floor. Outside of the broken window Jason saw hundreds of soldiers dressed in rusted ancient Greek warrior armor, all of them holding obsidian swords and shields. Each soldier that Jason could see was slightly glowing with bleached white skin, large sunken black eyes and seemed too thin to even carry a sword let alone fight. The undead army was slowly marching its way into the museum's fenced-in courtyard. Although parts of the fence were broken, the openings were still not big enough for the whole army to come through at once. Thankfully this was an advantage to the demigods; the encroaching force had to break into smaller groups, keeping them from overrunning the demigods too quickly.

The demigod troops, trained for this moment, were already in the courtyard fighting the hoards of undead. Jason could hear arrows and bullets flying into Hades' army from the roof of the museum.

"We have to go and help," Jason shouted over the turmoil, turning towards Susan.

"No," she responded. "You're not ready for a real fight yet; you go down there, you'll die. I can fight best from up here, their minds are weak from their time in the underworld, I can manipulate them easily if I can see them. Being up here I have a great advantage."

"Time in the underworld?" Jason asked confused. "You mean these are dead people's souls?!"

"Yes, Hades brings them back to life to fight for him. Now shut up, I need to concentrate," She replied annoyed.

Jason felt useless as he stood in the window watching the demigods fight off the undead souls. He noticed Gerald near the front lines fighting his way through many of the enemies' forces. In the distance behind the opposing army Jason noticed a light slowly moving through the streets coming towards the fighting.

"Susan," he shouted to get her attention. " What is that?"

He pointed toward the lights, gradually making their way through the hoard of undead soldiers. When Jason turned to see if Susan heard his question, he saw that all color had drained from her face. Susan looked absolutely terrified.

"Gerald!" Susan screamed as loud as she could her voice amplified slightly by the mist. "The cult is here, we need to stop them NOW!" Her words sounded almost as though she was in a panic. Gerald must have heard the urgency in her voice because he rallied the demigods to push harder against the enemy's lines in an attempt to force their way towards the lights.

"What the hell? What cult?" Jason asked Susan staring at her. "Susan, tell me what is going on."

"The Cult of Hecate…" Susan said her breathing growing slightly more rapid. "Is a congregation of Hecate's children, and other followers. All of the higher members of the Cult are children of Hecate and incredibly powerful witches. If they're here then that can only be bad."

Recalling Susan and his first encounter in the museum vault Jason understood why she was terrified.

"Why are your siblings siding with Hades?" Jason asked.

"Because my mother sides with him, like most of the other less recognized gods she wants Hades to overthrow Olympus," Susan answered her eyes glued to the fight.

Jason turned his attention back to the battle. _The 300 _were pushing their way towards the cultists, but were being held back by waves of the undead warriors. The cultists stopped moving and seemed to be standing a few feet inside of the outer gate to the museum. There were six cultists in the group from what Jason could see. Each of them wore identical grey robes and masks bearing Hecate's symbols, the crescent and star, over their covered faces. Four of them were holding the ends of two large wooden poles crossed in the center in an X-shape with torches pointing upwards near handles of the wooden beams. Positioned at the center of the X was a large rectangular alter decorated with gold, silver and an inlaid portrait of what Jason assumed was Hecate herself holding two torches. Another cultist was position in front carrying spear upright in front of him as he walked, and the last member followed behind the X shaped shrine carrying a large circular shield. The four members placed the shrine onto the ground and took positions equidistance around Hecate's shrine. As the foot soldiers gathered in a defensive circle around the cultists they started a chant that echoed throughout the battlegrounds. Jason couldn't understand the words he was hearing but assumed it was some sort of prayer to Hecate.

More undead warriors flooded into the courtyard and began pushing the demigods back towards the museum. Gerald urged his soldiers to hold their ground and they rallied behind him. However, both sides held their ground, not giving an inch as bullets and arrows rained down upon Hades' army.

"This is not good at all," Susan commented under her breath.

"What is the worst they can do? Conjure up illusions right? Can't you make it so we aren't affected?" Jason said.

"Your mom studied ancient Greek culture, surely you know why it was so important to have a proper burial in ancient times," Susan responded, rolling her eyes in frustration. "If you don't receive a proper burial then your soul can not go to the Underworld and can be used for horrible purposes by someone with the knowledge and power to summon your soul. And if my mother, the goddess of magic and _necromancy_, has allied herself with Hades, the lord of the dead, who watches over the souls of anyone who as ever died…"

"Then the cult can summon any soul who is in the underworld to fight for them," Jason finished, finally realizing how bad the situation truly was. He quickly turned his attention to the cultists; whatever they were doing he had to stop them before their plan could succeed.

"I have an idea, just wait," Jason cleared his mind and gathering up as much energy as he could produced storm clouds over the battlefield. He called down a bolt of lightning from the sky striking Hecate's shrine and causing a massive shockwave throwing demigod and undead soldier alike to the ground.

As the smoke cleared Jason felt the energy drain from his body. He leaned forward onto the window straining his eyes to see if his attempt to stop the cultists succeeded. The cultists vanished when the lightning struck the ground, leaving behind the shield and spear. The lightning bolt had shattered the alter leaving a small crater where the shrine stood. Jason noticed someone standing just in front of the crater, his body slouched over limply.

The man was large, even at his distance Jason could tell he must have been over 6 feet tall. The dust settled he could observe the new combatant. The mysterious man's skin was as white as marble, but unlike the others his muscles appeared to be sculpted from years of combat. He wore an ancient Greek tunic made from leather, bronzed greaves and shoulder plates, as well as a bronze helmet.

The undead warrior raised his head and took his first breath since his return from the underworld. Suddenly, a shot rang out from above Jason; the bullet flew towards the new warrior but, at the last second the bronze shot changed course hitting the stone pillar on the museums outer fence. The act struck Jason like an arrow…this was the man who cannot be harmed, the most dangerous warrior of the Trojan War, the son of Thetis, Achilles.


End file.
